During the time leading up to the American Revolution, there was no standing army in the Colonies. As such, they had to be ready to fight in a “minute’s” notice to defend themselves. That’s why they were called “minute men.” They were our only defense against invasion at the time.

After the war, when our Founding Fathers were drafting the Constitution, they included the right to bear arms (the Second Amendment to the Bill of Rights) to ensure there would always be a means to protect and defend the newly established country. For a great many years now, the need to bear arms “at a minute’s notice” has become passé because we have a standing military. It is for that reason the need to have fire arms in each household is no longer necessary.

At this juncture in our history we have reached the point of no return. There are over 250 million firearms in people’s hands today and we must live with that reality we can’t expect the gun owners to relinquish their firearms.

The Gun Control Legislation We Really Need

Consistent with President Obama’s recent gun control recommendations, I believe Congress should pass a law outlawing the sale of assault weapons. President Obama would also like to prohibit gun magazine clips that house more than ten rounds; I support such recommendations. Any change of laws where more bullets are allowed in a magazine clip than what President Obama recommends would be unacceptable and insufficient. To allow more bullets than ten in a magazine clip would simply provide the assailant with the capacity to kill more people before reloading, thus increasing rather than minimizing the carnage that would result.

My daughter Jenny, “with tongue in cheek,” suggested we have the prospective gun buyer write a coherent five paragraph essay on the pros and cons of gun control before that person could buy a gun. A teacher would determine whether the gun buyer passes or not.

In some ways, some of those recommendations and suggestions that President Obama proposed and I shared with you makes more sense than any others that may be mentioned because they represent the limits to which I’d be willing to compromise with those who don’t embrace President Obama’s recommendations.

Our government has an obligation to protect the general welfare and the lives of its citizenry in the best possible way. Consistent with this, President Obama recently said, “This is our first task as a society – keeping our children safe,” adding that “saving even one life” would make the changes he seeks worth the effort.

This duty comes from the Declaration of Independence. We must remember that in that document it is clearly stated , “We hold these truths to be self-evident,..that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The optimum assurance of the greatest safety against innocent people being massacred would be if only one bullet could be discharged before reloading would be required. However, politically, that’s not feasible. Nevertheless, it is our government’s responsibility to protect its citizen’s life.

Unfortunately, the Republicans in Congress immediately rejected President Obama’s proposals as an attack on the Constitutional right to bear arms.

What the Republicans appear to be doing is believing that the trade-off of allowing the gun owners to be able to continue to use assault weapons in the pursuit of target practice shooting as being a ‘fair’ and equable substitute for the loss of one or more lives that may occur if the deployment of assault weapons are maintained. I don’t see how that comparison could be equivalent! The ability to target shoot vs. risk of loss of even just one human life is not an equable exchange of value. Because those are not equivalent entities and anyone who thinks they are simply has no heart and is not honoring the Declaration of Independence’s statement of principles through which our Constitution should be interpreted, which is that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

If there is no real political solution to resolving gun control to everyone’s satisfaction where our politicians are unable to pass legislation satisfactory to both parties, President Obama should sign an executive order supporting his current recommendations, regardless of the political repercussions that may result.